IMF Managing Director Horst Köhler made the following statement today:

"I am very pleased to announce that, in close collaboration with the Argentine authorities, we have been able to finalize the visit of a high level group of persons to Argentina to advise about important aspects of monetary policy. The members of this panel will be Mr. Andrew Crockett, General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements, Mr. John Crow, former Governor of the Bank of Canada, Mr. Luis Angel Rojo, former Governor of the Bank of Spain, and Mr. Hans Tietmeyer, former President of the Deutsche Bundesbank. The group is expected to be in Argentina over July 22–24, 2002.

Briefly, we see the panel as advising the Argentine government and ourselves on aspects crucial to the design of a monetary framework. This includes a monetary anchor to control inflation and other institutional aspects, including central bank independence. These are critical components of a strong and comprehensive stabilization program for Argentina. We are very grateful that the distinguished members of the panel are able to make themselves available at very short notice for this task."